Day of arrival

There will always be things to see and do in the towns and cities we chose to start and end our tours and often the hotels will often have leisure and spa facilities. This gives time to relax and recover from any travel or jetlag because guests arrive at various times with some arriving earlier than others, so, nothing can be formally planned.

If you are hiring a bike through us we shall arrange to either have it delivered to the hotel or take you to the collection point. There you can check over your machine and ensure all is to your satisfaction. You can take a brief ride to familiarise yourself with the machine.

Nice to Tinée Valley ~160km ~ 5 hours riding

Departing Nice we head to the North initially on surfaced roads that just get twistier and twistier as we cross the Coll de Turini and onwards to reach our first track to cross the Vésubie valley and we finish the day in the Tinée valley.

Tinée Valley to Embrun ~ 165km ~ 5.5 hours riding

Our journey continues northward to cross the Col de la Moutière a partially surfaced pass which lies parallel to the Bonnette pass the highest paved road in France, then onwards to the famous Parpaillon pass to end the day in Embrun in the Hautes-Alpes.

Emburn to Bardonnechia ~ 170KM ~ 5.5 hours riding

We cross the Durance valley on beautiful forest tracks to bring us to Briançon, the highest fortified city in Europe and gateway to Italy.  We stop for the night in the Italian town of Bardonecchia where four valleys intersect.

Bardonnechia to Saluzzo ~ 220km ~ 6 hours riding

We have an early start to climb the rocky tracks of the Sommeiller pass at 3,000m altitude and then head towards the Strada dell’Assietta to pass the Basset pass before plunging towards the Grand Bosco Natural Park to the south. We follow the silhouette of Mount Viso near which we will spend the night.

Saluzzo to Nice ~ 200km ~ 6 hours riding

To complete to loop back to Nice we continue south towards Limone to reach to Col de Tende, a pass that marks the entrance to the Alta Via del Sale, an ancient trade route. Here you will see a lunar-like landscape as we ride at an altitude of over 2,000m. We finish these tracks at the border between Italy and France where it is only a few more kilometres back to Nice where this adventure ends.

Day of departure

Homeward bound or onward travel. After breakfast you will checkout of the hotel and be transported to the airport or station for onward travel. Those who have come on their own bikes will ride off.